Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

India claims it contains spread of Covid-19 as no new cases reported in fifth of its districts for a week

India claims it contains spread of Covid-19 as no new cases reported in fifth of its districts for a week

INDIA said on Thursday(28) it had curbed an increase in Covid-19 infections, with a fifth of its districts reporting no new cases for a week, even as its immunisation campaign has covered 2.4 million people.

The country of 1.35 billion has recorded the highest number of cases in the world after the US, though the rate of infection has come down significantly since a mid-September peak. Some studies have suggested pockets of India have attained herd immunity through natural infection.


"India has successfully contained the pandemic," health minister Harsh Vardhan said, noting that fewer than 12,000 cases were reported in the past 24 hours.

He said 146 of India's 718 districts have had no new cases for a week and 18 districts for two weeks.

"India has flattened its Covid-19 graph," Vardhan added.

With infections falling, the government said that from February 1 it would lift curbs on the use of public swimming pools, allow cinema halls and theatres to seat more than 50 per cent of capacity and let all types of exhibition halls to operate.

The world's second most populous country started its Covid-19 immunisation programme on January 16, with the aim to reach 300 million people by July-August.

India has so far reported 10.7 million infections and 153,847 deaths - one of the world's lowest fatality rates from the disease, attributed partly to its younger population.

Thyrocare Technologies Ltd, one of India's top-three diagnostic chains, told Reuters antibody tests it had done on more than 700,000 people showed that 55 per cent of the country's population may have already been infected.

The World Health Organization says at least 60 per cent to 70 per cent of the population needs to have immunity to break the chain of transmission.

A top Indian vaccine official told Reuters he did not think India had reached that level yet, but that even a smaller percentage could help slow the spread of the virus.

"Most of our highly populated districts and cities have had their run of the pandemic by now ... and may have what you like to call herd immunity, to an extent," Vinod Kumar Paul, who heads a committee on vaccine strategy, said earlier this month.

More For You

Shabana Mahmood

Shabana Mahmood (Photo: Getty Images)

Calls grow for Shabana Mahmood to toughen settlement rules

HOME SECRETARY Shabana Mahmood is under pressure to immediately enforce stricter immigration rules as large numbers of migrants approach the point at which they can settle permanently in Britain.

Government figures revealed that from next year about 270,000 migrants will qualify for indefinite leave to remain (ILR), the legal right to stay in the UK. The number is expected to rise sharply, reaching more than 600,000 by 2028, reported the Times.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kamala Harris calls Biden’s 2024 run ‘recklessness’ in new memoir

Former US vice president Kamala Harris speaks at the Emerge 20th Anniversary Gala in San Francisco, California, on April 30, 2025. (Photo by CAMILLE COHEN/AFP via Getty Images)

Kamala Harris calls Biden’s 2024 run ‘recklessness’ in new memoir

FORMER US vice president Kamala Harris said it was "recklessness" to let Joe Biden run for a second term as president, in an excerpt released on Wednesday (10) from her upcoming memoir.

Harris -- who replaced Biden as the 2024 Democratic presidential candidate but lost to Donald Trump -- admitted that the then-81-year-old got "tired" and was prone to stumbles that showed his age.

Keep ReadingShow less
Tejasvi Manoj

Manoj, from Frisco, Texas, created an innovation called ‘Shield Seniors’, a website designed to help people over 60 identify and report fraudulent messages and emails. (Photo credit: LinkedIn/Tejasvi Manoj)

Indian-American teen Tejasvi Manoj named Time’s ‘Kid of the Year’ 2025

SEVENTEEN-year-old Indian-American Tejasvi Manoj has been named Time magazine’s ‘Kid of the Year’ for 2025 for her work on protecting senior citizens from online scams.

Manoj, from Frisco, Texas, created an innovation called ‘Shield Seniors’, a website designed to help people over 60 identify and report fraudulent messages and emails.

Keep ReadingShow less
Mark Rowley

Met chief Sir Mark Rowley (Photo: Getty Images)

Police watchdog calls for end to recording non-crime hate incidents

THE head of the police inspectorate has said that non-crime hate incidents should be scrapped, arguing that officers must draw a clear line between what is offensive and what is criminal.

Sir Andy Cooke, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary, made the comments as he released his annual report on the state of policing in England and Wales. He said that while much of the public expect officers to tackle serious crime and anti-social behaviour, too much time is being spent on matters that do not amount to criminality.

Keep ReadingShow less
 University of Kent

The Office for Students welcomed the move, saying more universities may look at mergers as many face financial difficulties. (Photo credit: University of Kent)

University of Kent

Kent and Greenwich to merge into UK’s first regional university group

THE UNIVERSITIES of Kent and Greenwich will merge in 2026 to form the UK’s first regional “super-university”.

The new institution, to be called the London and South East University Group, will have one vice-chancellor and around 50,000 students, the BBC reported.

Keep ReadingShow less